Canadian Tire Centre to host outdoor watch party for Game 6 of Senators-Maple Leafs

Ottawa Citizen

30-04-2025

The Ottawa Senators will host an outdoor watch party for Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, team president Cyril Leeder confirmed Wednesday morning.
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The event will take place outside Gate 1 of Canadian Tire Centre in the CIBC Red Zone, where a large screen will broadcast the game live. Admission is free, but fans are encouraged to carpool or use alternative transportation, as parking will be limited, Leeder said.
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While the Senators hosted pre-game festivities outside the arena for Games 3 and 4, this marks the first time during the series that fans will have a dedicated space to watch a game without a ticket to enter the building.
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'We just let the series breathe a little bit and we wanted to make sure we were encouraging folks to go to their local bars and pubs,' Leeder said. '(They) have had a tough go through COVID in the last few years.'
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Bars and restaurants along Elgin Street's Sens Mile have absorbed most of the city's playoff energy so far, serving as the de facto viewing hub for Games 1 through 5. But with Ottawa now halfway to what would be a historic reverse sweep against their provincial rival, the team felt the time was right to bring the party to the arena.
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'People are asking for it and they really want to do it,' Leeder said.
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If the Senators force a Game 7, which would be played in Toronto, Leeder said the team is considering opening the interior of Canadian Tire Centre to fans for a large-scale indoor watch party — similar to what the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets have done during their own road games this post-season.
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'We'll make that decision if we're lucky enough to win Game 6,' he said.
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Leeder added that should Ottawa advance beyond the first round, more outdoor watch parties are on the table, but the organization is 'taking everything game by game at this point.'
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Outdoor playoff events have a strong precedent in Ottawa. During the team's 2007 and 2017 runs to the Eastern Conference final, such gatherings became a signature part of the Senators playoff festivities. Still, Leeder said this year feels different.
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'We didn't do it early on (in 2007 and 2017), but this is a little bit different,' he said. 'The Battle of Ontario, we haven't been in the playoffs in a while, so there's an unusual excitement around the series right now.'
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For now, the team's focus is solely on Game 6. The Senators are releasing a limited number of Game 6 tickets to the general public at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.